Driver rescued from snowdrift in Parwich as warnings of more heavy snow for Derbyshire today... and then flooding

FIREFIGHTERS had to winch a 4x4 vehicle out of a snowdrift after it became stuck in Parwich. Weather forecasters had warned more heavy snow could hit the county today between 6pm and 9pm.But the driver of the 4x4 preempted the predictions, with the incident happening at about 4pm. A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said both the driver and vehicle were rescued from the 3ft snowdrift by 4.35pm. She said they were escorted to the road shortly afterwards.And, as the snow started to fall in the early evening hours as predicted, highways officials were warning drivers of hazardous conditions. This included snow on the A5012 Via Gellia Lane, near Cromford.The Met Office had issued an amber warning for about two and four centimetres of snow and up to 10cm on higher ground tonight.

Meanwhile, Saturday morning is expected to be dry and bright before clouds move in from the west bring heavy rain and a risk of flooding.

And although the freezing temperatures are due to rise tomorrow, that, combined with a severe weather warning for heavy rain on Sunday, will lead to the possibility of localised flooding as the snow and ice begins to melt.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said: "There is a lot of water locked in the snow.